A Life's Worth

It began as a normal day and as usual I would go for a walk over my lunch break—my “walking adventure” as I called it.  To this day, I never get tired of walking in the river valley and along the North Saskatchewan River. Each season brings its own specific beauty to the area: the new beginnings of spring, the greenery of summer, the fall colours and the stillness of winter.

On this particular Friday afternoon in May 2015, you couldn’t ask for more--a perfect spring day with the sun shining warmly on my face. As I walked along the path towards the Dudley B. Menzies Bridge (the blue bridge where the LRT crosses the river), I noticed a gentleman flagging me down for help.  

As I approached him, he asked if I had a cell phone to call 9-1-1. I said yes and asked how I could help. He informed me that there was a young man wanting to end his life at the river’s edge.  His friend was trying to talk him out of it.

Things started to happen so fast. I called 9-1-1 and informed the operator of the situation. She told me that an ambulance would be sent right away and to stay there in case EMS had some questions.  She told me that the ambulance would be there in ten minutes. I stayed put as the operator instructed.

Meanwhile, one of the gentlemen was able to move the young man away from the river bank and walked with him to where I was standing. As we waited for the ambulance to arrive, I introduced myself and asked the young man and asked if he needed anything. He asked me if he could borrow my cellphone to call his dad. I said “sure, here you go”.  As I watched him speak with his father, I thought about what would make someone want to end their life. I couldn’t think of any reason. All of a sudden the young man handed the phone to me and said “my dad wants to talk to you”. I said “Hello Sir.” The young man’s father told me how thankful he was I came along to be able to help his son. Crying as he spoke, he told me that this was not the first time his son tried to take his life but that he had always been there with him. This time, he didn’t know where his son was and was worried about him. I assured him that I would wait with him until the ambulance arrived. He thanked me again and I hung up the phone. I was so moved by the conversation that I was speechless.

The ambulance arrived within ten minutes as promised.  The EMS workers asked me and the other gentleman for all the details while they attended to the young man. As he climbed into the ambulance, the young man thanked us. I asked one of the EMS workers where they were taking him and she said he was going to the Royal Alexandra Hospital and that his dad would meet him there.

As the ambulance drove away, I prayed that he would get the help he needed.

As I reflected on my experience, it occurred to me that whether we are in the workplace or not, we have a duty to help others—it’s not a choice. It’s a call to action at that moment when someone really needs our help.

Written By: Rhodora Funcion, former Project Advisor, Workplace Health & Safety employee now as Project Manager with Improving Health Outcomes Together (IHOT), Quality Healthcare Improvement (QHI).